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Poised for Greatness - 2017 Nick Hyde Memorial Preview

Poised for Greatness - 2017 Nick Hyde Memorial Preview

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 - 12:50

Photos and Story Credit: DiscGolProTour.com

The Nick Hyde Memorial powered by Innova and Hyzerbomb will be held at Harry Myers Park in Rockwall, Texas created by renowned course designer, John Houck. This venue has far more risk/reward choices to make than other courses on the Disc Golf Pro Tour so far this season. If players want to gain an edge on the field, they must dig deep into their bag of tricks to showcase their creativity. Competitors quite often will be expected to hit lines with only a minimal view of the baskets, while attempting to navigate through lush, but treacherous, scenery. On the Harry Myers course, finding that perfect line to the target is more than half the battle, and choosing wrong can easily turn a casual birdie into a scrambling bogey.

The third stop of the Disc Golf Pro Tour will draw our top competitors back to state of Texas. One player that has been on a career high is James “Smooth” Conrad. Narrowly finishing second to Jeremy Koling in Waco, and this week finishing second to Simon Lizotte at The Open at Temple, James has emerged as a force on the tour and ready to take down a victory this week. Returning with him is his smooth, straight drives that give him the advantage of navigating through the daunting wooded holes. His pin-point accuracy along with the wave of confidence that currently carries him, might be the next chapter to the Cinderella story that has sparked our imaginations.

Another returning player to the Nick Hyde Memorial powered by Innova and Hyzerbomb is Nate Sexton. One year ago, Nate battled to a three-way tie with Paul McBeth and Simon Lizotte. Although he came up short in a playoff, Nate showed his prowess on the course right to the finish. His reputation as a smart and sometimes conservative player will serve him well on this course. I asked him if the Harry Myers course plays to his strengths and he commented that, “Yes, it has a lot of variety and I feel that I am a well-rounded player.” There isn’t much doubt that his game is as solid as it has ever been. The question is whether he will take those aggressive shots when the moment arises. Nate Sexton has all the tools to take down a win this week in Texas and eager fans are ready to root him to a victory.

Taking a break from the second stop of the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Paul McBeth is back this week to fight for a win. Narrowly losing to Simon Lizotte here in the 2016 playoff, Paul has proven he has the ability to carve up the course and execute, not only the tight wooded holes, but the longer distance shots as well. It can be argued by some that only a few bad breaks were all that kept him from his usual easy victory last year, but many things change in a year. Will this be Paul McBeth’s year to take down the Nick Hyde Memorial powered by Innova and Hyzerbomb?

Last April, Simon Lizotte battled through this event and pulled out a well-deserved victory among the toughest field in the sport. In less than a year, Simon has rebounded from a major knee surgery and still early in the season has claimed a victory at The Open at Temple. Simon assured me that his knee is feeling great, “If it wasn’t I wouldn’t be playing.” It is that kind of prudence that reveals his growing maturity physically and mentally. If he continues with his great play this season, he is poised to dominate the tour. Simon’s strength is his ability to see impossible lines and actually hit them!  Without a doubt, his knack for creativity could be the defining skill that gives Simon the edge to go over the top of the same trees that most other players will be forced to squeeze through. I asked Simon what the trickiest elements are that you can encounter at the Harry Myers Park course in Rockwall, Texas and he admitted, “probably the wind and the mud on the tee pads are.” Simon Lizotte has taken a victory here and has the confidence to make it two in a row. But can he fend off players like Jeremy Koling, Ricky Wysocky, and Eagle McMahon?

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Left to right: Melody Waibel, Sarah Hokom, Paige Pierce

Pierce Looking to Three-peat

Paige Pierce has been dominant this year. Not only had she won both Disc Golf Pro Tour events of the season (The Memorial and WACO) but she also had not lost a single tournament during the 2017 season. Pierce was six for six on the year including a Major victory, a National Tour victory and two Disc Golf Pro Tour victories and looked to be the no-questions-asked favorite at the Nick Hyde Memorial powered by Innova and Hyzerbomb. So, it came as a surprise to many, that on the weekend in between Pro Tour events, Pierce suffered her first loss of the season at The Open at Temple. Pierce’s second place finish to Catrina Allen showed that yes, she is, in fact, human and she can be defeated.

What has been the key to Pierce’s success this year? It’s pretty simple actually. Pierce is carding birdies more than everyone else and bogeying less. Paige has only thrown a bogey or worse an incredible 13 times through the tour’s first two events. Pierce has been accurate off the tee, leading the division in both circle 1 and 2 in regulation and is third in fairway hits. The key for Pierce this season has been the fact that in those rare moments in which she finds herself off the fairway, she is recovering. Testimony to this is her top of the pack, blistering, 79% scramble rate. Will Pierce’s recent loss shake her confidence or will the star show her mental toughness and bounce back for a Nick Hyde victory? I don’t expect to see Pierce off of the top of the podium for long. As the two-time, defending Nick Hyde champion, another Pro Tour victory looks well in reach for Pierce.

It’s no secret that Catrina Allen’s 2017 season is off to a slow start. The 2016 Disc Golf Pro Tour champion struggled to fourth place finishes in both the Memorial and WACO. The good news for Catrina is that she still sits in the top three in Tour points and is in a position to make a move. In order to make a run at defending her title, Allen will need to improve some aspects of her game. Allen was last year’s statistics leader in both fairway hits and scramble percentage at 64% and 67% respectively. This year, Catrina’s fairway hits percentage has dropped slightly to 61%, but her scramble percentage has dropped significantly to 51%. If Catrina can start dialing in those shots from off the fairway, she could be one of the few that can challenge Pierce. The win at Temple should give Catrina some confidence, and there is no doubt that a good showing at Nick Hyde would go a long way towards Allen’s chances of repeating as DGPT champion.

Sarah Hokom has been within striking distance of Pierce at both the Memorial and WACO, but Pierce outlasted her in both events. The biggest improvement that she needs to make is inside of circle 1. She is only making 80% of those putts which puts her 16th on tour. Hokom is not a bad putter, in fact, last year, she was the best putter on tour, knocking down 89% of her Circle 1 putts. Whether it’s knocking off early season rust or just finding her putting stroke, if she can see her putting return to last year’s level, there is no doubt she has the skills to be on top of the podium. Hokom will look to improve on a third-place finish in last year’s Nick Hyde event.

Other names to keep an eye on during the event include a pair of Texas natives, Lisa Fajkus and Stephanie Vincent. Vincent had a strong showing at WACO finishing in an impressive third place and playing well above her 909 rating. Fajkus has had success in that past at Nick Hyde and finished second in last year’s event. These two could easily make some noise this week, and if you are looking for a fantasy sleeper pick, they should be at the top of your list.

The Nick Hyde Memorial powered by Innova and Hyzerbomb for the 2017 season promises to showcase the best disc golfers in the world battling to take home a victory on the third stop on The Disc Golf Pro Tour. Don’t miss a minute of the action as tournament coverage begins Friday, March 31st.

Open division story by Jerry Roth. Open Women's division story by Baker Helton.